"It kind of takes my mind away from what I've been dealing with at home to just come out and focus on a task. It's been helpful."

Devin Harris says his brother had 'a big heart' in first visit back with teammates

It's been more than two weeks since Bruce was killed on Oct. 19, in the early morning hours after the Mavericks' season-opening home loss to Atlanta. A car Bruce was driving stalled alongside Central Expressway and was rear-ended by another vehicle.

Devin Harris missed four games while helping his family, including Bruce's wife and children, cope with the tragedy.

He scored a season-high-tying 15 points in Saturday's loss at Minnesota. While his teammates flew to Washington on Sunday, he traveled to Milwaukee. He missed Monday's team practice to attend Bruce's funeral and missed Tuesday's morning shootaround while traveling to Washington.

During pregame warmups, Harris was quietly focused. As usual, he was intense during the game, then affable in the immediate aftermath. But as the locker room cleared and he discussed the past 24 hours, his eyes reddened.

"Today was probably harder than most days, just traveling and being by myself with my thoughts all day," he said. "It's worth it when we get a win like tonight."

Harris expressed disappointment in his 2-for-8 shooting against the Wizards, but he admittedly was drained, emotionally and physically.

"I still owe it to these guys because, the way we've been struggling, I know I can help," he said. "Just being here, obviously I didn't have a great one tonight, but just being here to be in the rotation, I think helped those guys out.

"I just gave them what I've got."

The Mavericks' poor season start and his personal adversity have obscured Harris' on-court renaissance. He missed a combined 35 games because of injuries the past two seasons, but his scoring average this season (9.4) is his highest since the 2012-13 season. His average plus-minus differential of 4.8 leads the team.

Most likely, none of the 14,505 fans who attended Tuesday's game knew anything about Harris' circumstances, but his coaches and teammates certainly were appreciative. Moments before the team plane left Washington, Barnes sent this tweet:

"None of us can possibly know what's going on in his head, with all this," coach Rick Carlisle told The News. "But I do know that when he gets with the team it's another form of family. It's a sanctuary of sorts. And somehow or other he's having a phenomenal year.

"I'm so amazed, I can't even put it into words."

Said owner Mark Cuban: "To be a great athlete in any professional sport, you've got to be able to focus mentally. And Devin's got an amazing ability to focus. Obviously he's using this as an impetus to drive himself.

"I give him a ton of credit. I wouldn't have the same mental toughness that he has."

As valuable as it has been for the franchise to have Harris contribute what he can, it's been equally meaningful to Harris to get support from his Mavericks family.

On the morning of Bruce's accident, one of the first to arrive at the hospital was Cuban. And would you believe it? When Devin was on the road with the Mavericks for the Oct. 30 game at Utah, his wife, Meghan, was in a minor auto accident in Dallas.

"A lot has happened," Harris said. "But these are my brothers, too, and I owe it to them to be here, as well. I know my brother would want me to continue to do what I'm doing -- and to just take it day by day.

"I've had great support from my family and great support from the Mavs, too. They've given me time and pretty much anything I've needed to get through this. It's been great on both ends."